Specialized Foster Care

Family & Children’s Agency offers specialized foster care programs designed for children with serious medical, emotional, and behavioral disorders. To maintain a foster parent license, each parent must complete 30 hours of initial training and a minimum of 28 hours post-licensing training, annually. Foster parents are also required to have CPR and First Aid certification.

Therapeutic Foster Care

The Therapeutic Foster Care program is designed to provide homes for children who have been diagnosed with a serious psychiatric disorder. These children range in age from 6 to 18 years old. Youth in this program are assigned a Therapeutic Foster Care social worker, to provide case management services and assist in providing stability in the foster home. The assigned social worker will visit with the child and foster parents weekly, both in the foster home and in the community. The social worker will also help the foster parent advocate for the child's needs to lead a successful life. Children placed in foster care can be a short or long-term placement, to be discussed with FCA social worker as well as the DCF workers. Foster parents in this program receive training and support so they can actively participate in the planning and implementation of therapeutic interventions for their foster children. Monthly training and support groups are provided by FCA, including topics such as attachment, trauma, behavioral modification, cultural diversity, and mandated reporting.

Medically Complex Foster Care

The Medically Complex Foster Care program provides homes for children with complex medical needs. This may include feeding tubes, chronic illnesses, or wheelchair-bound children. Children in this program range from birth to 18 years old and are assigned a Specialized Foster Care social worker. This social worker will visit with the children and foster parents at least twice per month in the home. In addition to FCA's standard foster parent pre and post training, foster parents in this program must complete 20 hours of classroom and child-specific training prior to placement. Children in this program may have one or more of the following physical conditions:

Complications from premature birth or low birth weight

Feeding difficulties

Cardiac problems

Asthma

Burns

Physical injuries from abuse

Family & Community Ties Foster Care

Family & Children's Agency is one of five programs in the state that offers Family & Community Ties, the highest level of therapeutic foster care available in Connecticut. These children have a long history of placement disruptions, psychiatric hospitalizations, and placement in residential treatment. Families interested in this level of care should have a two-adult home and an additional bedroom solely for the child. Families should also be welcoming of the Family & Children's Agency Treatment team (a licensed clinician and case manager, along with other support staff) to provide intensive in-home clinical and case management support multiple times per week. It is the hope that these families will make a commitment to youth placed in their home for the duration of their time in foster care.

While youth in foster care may often return to their biological families, or other biological caregivers, at times they may require a long-term placement or adoption. Foster families will have this information when a child is placed in their home. The placement process is done mindfully, based on the family structure and identified needs of the child. Foster families will be contacted about a potential youth to be placed in their home, and have the opportunity to ask questions to determine if this youth will be a good fit for their family. When possible, foster parents conduct pre-placement visits with the youth, to help with a smooth transition into the home. For all levels of care, Foster Parents are welcome to be an active part of a child’s treatment and encouraged to be a team member through school meetings, DCF meetings, therapy, etc.